Elizabeth Mitchell joins the “Revolution”

In case you don’t have enough to celebrate this July 4, we news worthy of its own fireworks show: Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost and V) is returning to TV this fall.

Photo courtesy ABC

Mitchell just signed on for NBC’s promising new show Revolution, the latest from Lost creator J.J. Abrams and Supernatural creator Eric Kripke. According to TVLine, Mitchell plays Rachel Matheson, mom of main characters Charlie and Danny Matheson. Rachel appears mostly in flashbacks — but frequently enough that Mitchell is a series regular.

Revolution, which will air right after The Voice on Mondays, takes place 15 years after a catastrophic worldwide power failure. Electricity suddenly stopped working — as did everything from airplanes to hospitals to communication systems — and civilization took a giant step backward.

Now the world has returned to a more simple, family-centered lifestyle. But a militia style government is in power and is trying to find out a way to get electricity back in a way that they can control it. Charlie (Tracy Spiridakos) watches a militia group kill her father and kidnap her brother, and sets out to find her uncle so he can help her save Danny.

Here’s a preview. (Mitchell replaces Andrea Roth, who appears in this clip.)

Although we haven’t seen much of Mitchell’s character yet, The Hollywood Reporter describes Rachel as “a beautiful and warm parent who’s terrified of the ordeal that her children will face as they navigate the dystopian world.” Whether she knows about her husband’s involvement in the power blackout remains to be seen. In any case, I hope Revolution has plenty of close-ups of Mitchell gazing into the camera. Those eyes are enough to light fireworks in my, um, heart.

Photo courtesy ABC

NBC’s record for allowing dramas to find an audience is abysmal, but giving Revolution prime placement after The Voice is surely a sign of confidence in the show. In any case, I’ll be glued to my television for the return of Elizabeth Mitchell. How about you?